I remember my first statistics lecture in psychology… for all the wrong reasons. The lecturer came in late, and then just started to berate us about the need for standard deviation. For 50 minutes she went on and on about it without making one point clear. Consequently, she began with naïve students and ended with confused students.

Luckily, by the time I had to revisit statistics some years later I had two excellent mentors, Associate Professor Nikki Rickard and Emeritus Professor Kim Ng, who could place statistics within a greater research framework. They taught me that the key to data analysis was not the mathematics but a well-designed experiment. Through good planning the data analysis was made simple leading to clear findings which were interpretable within a broader theoretical framework. I still believe this to be the goal of research design and analysis.

This text is designed, therefore, to get you thinking like a scientist with a lesser emphasis on performing certain arithmetic procedures. To this end, I have attempted to bring together research design and statistical analysis in the one text. I have also tried to explain why each concept is important and how to use it appropriately. In addition many numerical examples are provided which cover the gamut of the bio-behavioral sciences. Hopefully these prompt you to use particular techniques in your studies.

There are also a myriad of discussion questions and calculation questions to test your understanding, along with many references to the use of particular techniques in the literature marked under the heading ‘Statistics in Action’. I would hope that you would use the scientific literature in conjunction with this text so as to see how scientists deal with realworld problems.

Finally, take from this text a feel for how to do science. While particular techniques are important, a broader and deeper conceptual understanding will be your key to unlocking nature.

I wish you all the best.

Tom Edwards